The Woodwork Flute
by Andrianna Litewing
Summary: It just goes to show that eavesdropping is bad for the soul--now Sakura, who was minding her own business--and sorta-kinda singing along--is stuck with a prick of a mate and a very angry ex-boyfriend. And what the hell? Why can't she say her own name?
1. Prologue

_**A/N: Okay, so obviously, I'm not Cassy. I'm ANDY, who happened to be kind enough to help Cassy finish this thing and etc. etc. etc. I'm doing my own little editing thing, so if you re-read this and see differences and stuff, don't be surprised. I'm not going to be doing anything major, though.**_

_**Thank you for reading this. Cassy will be contributing to the finishing of this story, so don't be deterred in reading it.**_

* * *

_**Prologue**_

* * *

The Lunar Tribe looked upon the hill, where a stranger stood, surrounded by Mountain Laurels. Her silver hair was long, almost past her knees, and her luminous skin seemed to feed off of the stars in the twilight sky, dim as they were at this early hour. Her eyes were of the deepest blue, like little pools of the fathomless ocean; not far from here, mind you; decided to spill themselves to this girl's eyes on a whimsy.

She had a long, pale face, not unlike a cat's, that seemed to be devoured by her long, massive locks of silver hair. Her body was similar to her face; long and thin, without much flesh on her bones. But there was an odd strength that seemed to radiate from her, like an authority of spirit itching to leap out of her. But the strangest thing about her was on her back: two long, feathery wings, the same color as her hair. In her hands was a wooden flute.

The Lunar Tribe was amazed at her appearance. They all bowed in respect towards the young girl, for she was a Ra Din; a messenger from the Great Spirit himself, here to spread wisdom and peace through the tribe. She must have been sent as an answer to their prayers, to the prayers of the Lunar Tribe, here to help them through their "Great Dilemma" as they called it.

You see, marriages were arranged by the fathers for convenience, just like marriages were in other tribes. But lately, there wasn't any birthing. No new generation has been brought to the World, and the people were worried. If there was no new generation, the Lunar Tribe would die. The Elders sent their prayers to the great Gods, hoping for a message, a sign, something to find out why there was no birthing.

And now, there prayers were answered in the form of this girl.

She slowly descended from the hill, Mountain Laurels springing on the ground her feet touched, a Holy sign showing that she was from the great Goddess Sakura, the one of childbirth and love. It was a great insult to call a God or Goddess by their name, so the Lunar Tribe simply calls Sakura "The Goddess" or "The Only One."

When she reached the Tribe's living boundaries, a sign of respect, she called out in a soft voice, "Who is the Chieftain who has taken prayers to the Goddess Sakura, the Only One?"

The Elders looked puzzled they prayed to the Great Gods, not the meager and only Goddess. No Elder could take credit for it; taking praise for what is not theirs is a great offense to the Gods. After a few minutes, an old woman stood forward, the One With No Name. When she was younger, she, of course, had a name, which has no relevance anymore, since her purpose for the tribe has been long since diminished. She could no longer hunt or farm, being too feeble, and was too old to birth any longer. Therefore, she had no use for a name, because nobody had a reason to address her in any way. Sooner or later, she would no longer be able to provide herself, and starve; making one less unnecessary mouth to feed.

But here was The Nameless Crone, standing before the young messenger of the Only Goddess. She bowed feebly and stated "I prayed to the Goddess of Childbirth and Love."

The Messenger smiled. "Greetings, Wise One. Your prayers have been answered. The Great Gods have tried to help you, but they do not have the answer to why no birthing has happened within your tribe, because it was the Goddess' doing. She is angry at you, not for your lack of respect, for you have been doing that for generations, and she no longer minds... Though I do." She muttered the last part under her breath.

"No, it is not that, but the birthing problem is simply because a key ingredient is missing—love. Your marriages contain no love in them, and for that, the Only One is angry. Listening to the Wise One's prayers," the Messenger gestured towards the Nameless Crone, "the Goddess has decided to help you find Perfect Matches for the latest generation of your tribe, and I am here to show you how."

The Messenger showed them her wooden flute, which had crescent moons and flowers engraved over it, showing it was made by the Goddess for the Lunar Tribe. "I need a celebration fire started."

A fire was started with the Holy Wood, wood that came from trees that was given water blessed by the Gods, which was only used for Religious ceremonies. The flames were not a reddish orange, rather, silver white tongues of fire shot from the Holy Wood, a sign of purity. A man that was supposed to have an arranged marriage soon was going to be the first to be wed with his Soulmate.

The Messenger got all the unwed females into the "Holy Circle" around the fire, where they waited expectantly for something to happen.

Then, without warning, the Messenger started to play the Wooden Flute.

After a few minutes of listening to the haunting melody, a strange force came over the young man as he started to dance. As he danced, the Flames grew brighter and brighter, reaching higher and higher. The unwed women watched in amazement as the man danced in his own crazy way to the unfamiliar melody of the Wooden Flute.

After a few minutes, one of the unwed women started to sing along to the strange melody, causing the man to dance faster, as if invigorated by her voice. Some other women tried to sing along as well, but did not know what they were singing and stopped soon afterward, contented to just watch the pair as the unwed woman started to dance with the man in a mirror image of what he was doing.

After a while, the Messenger stopped playing, and the pair dropped to the ground, suddenly exhausted, and the silver haired girl said triumphantly, "Those two are Soulmates. The Wooden Flute I hold helps you find a perfect match. And a perfect match means plenty of healthy birthings.

"It always plays a different song then it did the times before, no matter who plays it, for it is the Soul Song of the man who needs to be wed. His Soulmate will know the song subconsciously, and will be able to sing the words of the song, and eventually dance in the mirror image of her Soulmate. As long as you use this to determine who should marry whom, the Only One will look kindly upon your tribe and bless you and all your generations to come.

"But you should know..." the Messenger paused, wondering if she should really speak of what is to come. She decided for it. "You should know that many, many years from now, a descendant of the Wise One will be Soulmates with someone who does not belong in a tribe." The Lunar Tribe gasped in surprise and fear, for those who do not belong in a Tribe belong to the Outside World, a fearsome, ignorant place that mocks the ways of the Tribes. They despise the Tribes for it, forcing them away into hidden lands where they must live today.

But that was a long time ago. Now, to the Outside World, they are just a myth, a fanciful story that mothers tell their children to entertain them during festivals.

Of course, that would not have been nearly as bad as would be if this Soulmate of the Descendant of the Wise One (It is her new name now, for she has importance again) was from a different Tribe. You see, there are three main tribes: The Solar Tribe, The Lunar Tribe, and the Starlight Tribe; and they are bitter enemies. No one remembers why they hate each other, they simply do and that is that. Right now, they are at peace with the other Tribes, but not too long ago was an age of awful wartime, a horrible time which should not be explained on these pages, for I fear that blood will shed upon these words just by writing them.

But now they were at peace with the Tribes and all was well and their birthing problem was solved and the Goddess favored them. The Wise One was held sacred, and she had more children despite her old age, and her descendants were held to be the most powerful and royal, for the goddess now favored them. The depressing omen said by the Messenger was soon forgotten, now only spoken by the Singers, or the people who play the Sacred Wooden Flute their entire lives, as a precaution.

The Wise One started the great line of the Uchiha Clan, whose members were treated almost as well as the Gods and Goddess themselves.

It was never needed until hundreds of years later, when the peace between the Tribes was becoming very strained and broken, when the Outside World would almost never speak of the Tribes any longer, that the Messenger's omen was ever needed to spoken about again...


	2. The Outside World

_**The Outside World**_

In an area not far from Tokyo, Japan, there was a small town. It was in what city people would call "Rural Japan" even if it wasn't so rural. This town was called Konahagakure, an ancient city that was hundreds of years old. It prided itself in its peace and tranquility that seemed to radiate from the village.

But right now, the older people of the village were wondering if the place would ever be quiet again. Near the western edge of the town was an average suburban house, average size, two stories. The outside was painted a pale pink, but the rather large garage that was connected to it was a dirty white color. Nobody put their cars in their garage, because nobody needs a car to get around the small town, which makes garages irrelevant.

Right now, there was a loud noise coming from it, causing many of the elderly neighbors to shake their head in disgust at the sound. They couldn't complain~ it wasn't illegal to do this sort of thing, and if they went to the source of the noise to tell them to stop it, they would simply do it at night, when everybody would be trying to sleep. Key word: TRYING.

Inside of the wretched garage were three teenage girls, playing a song together for rehearsal of their concert that they were doing that night.

One had brown hair in two buns on top of her head, giving her a Panda-like appearance and chocolate brown eyes. She was wearing ripped baggy jeans, worn down sneakers, and a T-shirt with ripped sleeves that said something that looked sort of like this:

**I**

**CDUMB**

**PEOPLEREAD**

**INGTHIS**

**SHIRT**

She wore no makeup: She didn't need to. She was a complete tomboy, and everyone knew it. She was so kickass, any boy in his right mind would stay far away from her. No point in impressing a bunch of wimps that are afraid to touch you, she'd always say. She was playing a neon blue electric guitar and was a background singer.

The second girl had dirty blonde hair that was held back with four pigtails and ice blue eyes, wearing a spaghetti strap shirt and a short skirt over fishnet leggings. She had fishnets and bracelets almost completely covering her arms, painted black nails, and a cruel smile that either made the men stare or run far away in the opposite direction. She played the drums and always carried her drum sticks with her—you never know when you need to bash someone's head, so it's good to always have something handy, she'd always say. She was also a background singer.

The last girl was the most shocking. She had big, green eyes that were surrounded by thick, dark lashes. She had a leather chocker around her neck and exotic bracelets clinging to her upper arms and hanging gracefully at her wrist on one arm, with an electric pink arm warmer on her other arm, from just below her bracelets to just above where her fingers formed. Her nails were not fake, though a lot of people thought so since they were so long and adorned with beautiful designs were changed weekly. She wore a white silk spaghetti strap top that went past her hips to her thighs with lace at the straps and at the hemlines, and tight, jet black nylon short shorts. The girl had light blue knee high socks and high-heeled school-like shoes.

But her strange attire was nothing compared to her hair. It was a bright, electric pink that went down to her shoulders and framed her feline-like face. The oddest thing was, the hair pigment was natural. Everybody at her school is convinced she secretly dyes it for her image...Well, except for the members of her band.

Tenten, Temari, and Sakura had been friends since before they could walk and talk. They used to always hang out together, and each one of them could write a very long, embarrassing biography of the other two.

Unfortunately, when they reached high school, the trio started to drift apart. Tenten became the athlete/wrestler/official tomboy, Temari fell into the Goth/Emo/Punk crowd, and Sakura couldn't find a place at all, and was torn between her two friends. So, she asked them to help her start a band, and, knowing how their friendship needed it, the other two agreed.

After two and a half weeks of arguing, crying, and black eyes, they came up with their band name: Marshmallow Cult. Sakura, who couldn't play any instrument to save her life but had the voice of an angel and knew how notes were played (just not how to play them), was sought as the lead singer and song writer. Tenten would play the guitar, and Temari, the drums, while both would be background singers.

There first song was a hit with their peers, and they actually managed to make the single into a CD. So now, they were trying to make a new hit single, which Sakura seemed to form more and more every day. But, she would sing a few lines and then forget the entire thing, seeming to that if she waited until tomorrow, she'd hear it again, and get a few more lines and music notes in her trusty notebook.

Right now, though, the only thing Marshmallow Cult was worried about was completely perfecting the song they already had for their fans, expecting nothing less than awesome during the concert tonight.

"Okay, from the top!" The pink-haired girl said.

"Got it, Sakura!"

After a few minutes of playing, they hit the bump in the road that they always could not get over: It was near the end, where they would sing the chorus again, but the notes changed for dramatics. They would always seem to forget that nowadays, and they couldn't stop themselves from making that same mistake again and again.

"Okay..." Tenten started. The other two turned around to the brown-haired girl, suddenly attentive to the guitar girl. Whenever Tenten started a sentence like that, an idea was always forming in her head. And most of the time, it was a pretty good one.

"Why don't we just play the part we always seem to mess up on over and over until we have it in our heads?"

The other two girls sweatdropped; not because the idea was a bad one, but because they didn't think of it before. Tenten was by no means dumb, but compared to Temari and Sakura, she might as well be. Sakura was at the top of every class with absolute perfect grades, and Temari is known as an excellent strategist who dominated in games like "battleship" and "chess" since elementary school. Tenten was known for her brawns, not brains, but had a knack for coming up with the simplest way to accomplish something, and most of the time, it was the best way.

"Okay, let's do it, girls!"

"Got it!"

After a "one, two, three, four!" they sang

**Cuz you're everywhere to me  
****When I close my eyes, it's you I see.  
****You're everythin' I know that makes me believe...  
****I'm not alone...  
****I'm not a—  
****You're everywhere to me!  
****When I catch my breath, it's you I breathe.  
****You're everything I know that makes me believe...  
****I'm not alone...  
****I'm not alone  
****(instrumental break)  
****....  
****You're in everyone I see...  
****So tell me this...  
****Do you see me?**

Marshmallow Cult cheered; it was the first time since they made the CD that they got that part right. After doing it a few more times, they put it together with the rest of the song, and surprisingly, it went without a hitch. After a few more hours of practicing, they all agreed that they were ready for the concert that night.

Temari looked at Sakura. "You _are_ going to work on that song of yours, right?"

Tenten turned around to give Sakura her "evil eye". "Yeah, we need it done by next week or that record company is here and gone and they won't do anything for us! You'll not only miss the train to stardom, but you'll keep us at the station as well! It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"

Sakura sighed. Leave it to her friends to put on the pressure with an extra helping of guilt.

"Okay, okay, I get it! Don't worry, it'll be done by then, I even have the chorus down already! Tenten, could you play the notes here," the pink-haired girl took out a piece of paper and gave it to the panda-girl, "on your guitar," she handed Tenten her guitar, now unplugged, "so I can show you what it sounds like so far?"

Tenten sighed but agreed; Sakura had said this sort of thing before. She make up a part of the song, only to change it the next day or forget even writing it. Temari gave Sakura an if-this-is-another-dud-you-just-lost-a-friend look. Sakura took in a shaky breath as Tenten started playing the notes on her trusty guitar. After the four-beat intro, she started to sing:

**And I...  
****Take it just a little bit.  
****I...  
****Hold my breath and count to ten.  
****I've...  
****Been waiting for a chance to let you in!  
****If I just...  
****Breathe  
****Every little thing  
**'**Cept me, you'll see,  
****Everything is all right  
****Breathe  
****Every little thing  
**'**Cept me, you'll see,  
****Everything is all right  
****If I just...  
****Breathe.**

Tenten and Temari clapped; out of all of the songs she had sang, this one was by far the best. It definitely had potential. Sakura smiled, now all she had to do is add a few verses and instrumental breaks, and the song would be sung to the record company that was visiting a town close to here next week. Soon, everyone in Japan would know there name.

Maybe even beyond that. They could be international superstars. I mean, they _did _have the potential to make it all the way; why should they stay on the ground when they could touch the stars?

Her thoughts of the future were interrupted by the arrival of their manager and Sakura's boyfriend, Naruto Uzumaki. He had spiky blonde hair that shot up in different directions, dark blue eyes, and a body of average height and size, though compared to Sakura's petite body, looked huge. The biggest factor was two whisker-like marks on each cheek, a birth defect, he once said, and damned proud of it.

They met in Middle School. Technically, they had been together since pre-k, but it took until Middle School for her to turn around and bump into him...while he was carrying his project for the science fair (a one-way ticket to passing the sixth grade if he did a good job). Being the half-bitch, half-caring person she was, she screamed at him for messing up her favorite shirt for a good week, then offered her help on his project.

What she found out about him was that he was loud, obnoxious, annoying, way too cheery, laughs way too much, and makes up really rotten jokes, the kind people force a laugh out at it just so they don't hurt his feelings. Naruto Uzumaki in a nutshell.

At first, at least.

When Sakura got to know him, she found out that he was extremely stubborn (in the "I won't back down on my friends" way), good-natured, and just wonderful to be around with. Her friends supported her all the way when she said he was her crush. All three of them had previously never kissed, and obviously never had a boyfriend.

Naruto and Sakura have been going out ever since.

Of course, it wasn't the perfect relationship—Naruto was way too immature, and Sakura just couldn't stand him at times. In Middle School, it wasn't such a big deal— they'd always kiss and make up in the end. But now, in High School, it feels to her like they were drifting apart. Naruto was still SO immature, and Sakura was finding less and less reasons to hang around him. To her, he was a child that needed constant attention or he might get hurt. Honestly, she didn't feel like she could put up with it.

But, when she was sad, he still came over in the first five minutes after she called with flowers and a giant teddy bear she named Poku. He still made her laugh, and made her want to be around him. But, now it was more of... in a _friend's_ way, not a _boyfriend's_ way. Nothing seemed to click anymore when it came to romance. She tried to avoid him, but when it came to the band, there was nothing she could do, unless he came down with a severe case of polio.

As a manager, she had to admit, her boyfriend was pretty good. He set up the concerts, got the money to make their single a CD, and best of all, he does it for free. Whenever Sakura just couldn't take him anymore and just wanted to break up, the band came into her mind, and she would put on a fake smile for him. If she broke up with him, he might want payment for his services, or worse—he might want to quit. Marshmallow Cult was a great band, but would never get anywhere without a manager.

Naruto came in through the garage door just in time to hear his precious girl sing the last note of her song. He clapped at her effort at the song, and came over to the group, giving the pink-head a small kiss on the cheek, then addressing all of the group. "You guys ready for tonight?"

The answer was immediate and absolute:

"HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


	3. The Lunar Tribe Heir

_**The Lunar Tribe Heir**_

"Sasuke-chan..."

"Sasuke..."

Grunt. There was no way in HELL he was getting up at this ungodly hour. Curse Duvien, god of sunrise. Right now, he felt like cursing every god... especially the god_dess_.

"SASUKE YOU BETTER GET UP NOW OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY, DAMMIT!!!!!!"

He groaned. His mother could be such a pain sometimes. It never bothered him as much as it did now, since it was usually directed to his elder brother.

Sasuke felt his mother yank at his ankles as she proceeded to drag him out of his tent. Mikoto Uchiha wasn't kidding when she said there would be hell to pay. Being dragged out of your tent was not comfortable, but Sasuke had plenty of experience with the pain and the embarrassment.

"Meh..." he whined as the sun hit his face. It was near noontime, by its position.

"Don't you dare act like a child today, Sasuke-chan. Today is a very special day! Don't start it off with a bad attitude!"

Oh, yes. His "big day." could he forget? It was the _reason_ why he felt so completely horrible today. His life would officially suck from here on in, the day of his sixteenth year-mark. Oh, how he wished he was lucky like Itachi, who was able to convince their mother to stop the ceremony for him. Of course, that meant that _he_ had to go through with it.

Because of Itachi, he was the heir to the Uchiha clan and the Lunar Tribe, since his brother refused to marry. Now, he HAS to marry to "carry on the Uchiha name" as his father put it. Fugaku Uchiha had pretty much neglected Sasuke his entire life, as he was the second son. Instead, he spent his time teaching Itachi everything he needed to know about leading a tribe. When Itachi refused the position, along with the potential marriage, Fugaku turned to Sasuke and started paying attention to _him._

Sasuke never minded being ignored by his father. From what he could tell, his father was nothing short of crazy, and how his mother ever fell in love with Fugaku was beyond his comprehension.

His mother—when thinking of her, he would shake his head thoughtfully with a half-formed smile on his face. Overly romantic about _everything,_ Mikoto Uchiha basically raised Sasuke. Itachi was always too busy with Fugaku to spend time with his mother, so she spoiled Sasuke with her love and attention. Sasuke never minded being neglected by his father was because Mikoto had more than enough love and attention for two parents. Then, of course, Itachi had to go and refuse the title, and Fugaku had to start drilling rules into Sasuke's head. Ever since then, Sasuke's relationship with his mother took a nosedive.

Why, did Itachi just _have_ to turn down his birthright?

Okay, the whole you-need-to-be-married-to-have-it thing sucked, but countless other men lived through the embarrassment. Why did Itachi have to put his foot down? He agreed with elder brother on something, though—he thought, though would never say it out loud—_especially_ if Mikoto was in earshot—that an arranged marriage would be a lot easier to get through. You didn't really have to LOVE your wife; all you had to do was carry on the clan with her. No big deal.

But of course, the great Only One (cue the very foul names here) had to give the Lunar Tribe the precious Woodwork Flute, and just HAD to give his clan her favor. Ever since his fifteenth birthday, every single eligible girl in the Lunar Tribe had been flirting outrageously with him. He wasn't very fond of girls before his fifteenth birthday to begin with; now he stayed in his tent as much as possible to avoid the hordes of locals who would come and stare at him with doe eyes, already imagining life as the head matriarch of the tribe.

Of course, heritage may not have been the only thing that made the young women within the Lunar Tribe swoon at the thought of the Uchiha heir. With his pale skin, exotic onyx-colored eyes, midnight black hair (which, the men are quick to point out, is shaped like a chicken's arse), and toned body from long days hunting, he was definitely the most desirable man in the Lunar Tribe.

Well, probably second to Itachi. I mean, that guy is SEXY.

(But don't tell him I said that.)

Anyway, speaking of fangirls...

A young woman about his age came up to him (Sasuke, who was still lying on the ground, wishing he was asleep), and said, "Ohayou, Sasuke-kun!" She had long black hair that was unconfined and traveled to her waist, dark violet eyes, and a tall, evenly proportioned body.

He groaned. His mother (who was still holding his ankles) said, "Ohayou, Ami!"

It was common knowledge that Ami was most likely going to be his wife. It wasn't her looks or her love of Sasuke, though, that helped her chances—it was simply because she was from a high ranked family in the Lunar Tribe. Sasuke's mother was hoping Ami was Sasuke's soulmate, which would be determined tonight, on his sixteenth birthday. His brother gave up his birthright to avoid making a fool of himself around the fire, and unless Mikoto popped out another baby boy in the next six hours, there would be no way for Sasuke to avoid the marriage.

He was always sort of sour towards his brother, but right now, the feeling had grown to nothing short of hatred. Or loathing. He was spending the first three hours since his waking staring at the top of his tent trying to figure out which one it was. Of course, he went back to sleep after a while, only to be woken up by his mother.

"Sasuke-kun?" Ami looked at him like he was already her husband. It made him rather sick at his stomach.

"Hn."

"Would you like to go on a walk with me in Forest?"

Before he could answer, his mother spoke up, dropping his ankles at last. "Well, of _course_ he would, Ami! Just let Sasu-chan get dressed and he'll be out in a moment!"

When he grudgingly got up to go to his tent, his mother whispered in his ear "Don't screw this up."

Sasuke sighed and entered the tent. Ami was the last person he wanted to talk to. She was like a radio— she could talk and talk and talk, but when you try to talk to her, she'll just continue with what she was talking about like you had never even spoken to begin with. It was impossible to change the subject.

After he got his casual clothes on, he came out of his tent to find his mother and Ami looking at him expectantly. He sighed.

It would be a long walk.

* * *

After two mind-numbing hours of listening (or rather, look like you are interested, nodding every now and then, while wishing for some lightning bolt to strike you, or better yet, Ami) while walking in the forest grounds surrounding the Lunar Tribe, Sasuke realized they had passed the Lunar Tribe's boundary lines some time back. That was bad.

They were walking through the Solar Tribe's part of the Great Forest, and that was really, REALLY bad. The treaty signed ages ago was very strained between the two tribes, more so than with the Lunar and Starlight Tribe, the last of the three tribes. If someone caught them there...

Sasuke tried desperately to get Ami's attention, but he might as well have tried to move a tree. At least a tree was quieter. Maybe he could just leave her there and hope she will make it back...or better yet, hope she doesn't make it back...

"What are you two doing here?"

Too late. Sasuke groaned inwardly, while he pulled his face into an impassive expression. Ami finally stopped talking to see the newcomer.

Standing in front of them, dressed in a pure white male's kimono, stood the Solar Tribe heir, Hyuuga Neji. Though he was not really the Solar Tribe Lord's son—he was actually Hiashi's his nephew—he was by far the strongest of the Hyuugas. He had long brown hair tied in a loose and low ponytail, and strange white eyes, which, at first thought, would make him blind, but it was the exact opposite. He could see everywhere, in all directions, for great distances.

He was looking at Sasuke coolly, but it was obvious he enjoyed cornering the Lunar Tribe heir. Sasuke carefully kept his face impassive. "I apologize for trespassing on your territory, Hyuuga-sama." There. He got respect from Sasuke. A _lot_ of it. So much, in fact, that Sasuke wanted nothing more than to rip that smirk off of the bastard's face.

"You didn't answer my question, Uchiha-san. Why are you two here?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth; not only did Hyuuga still pester them, he didn't bother to give respect in return. It was very rude for him to do something like that—the Hyuuga was obviously picking a fight.

No. Sasuke was better than that. He would not stoop to the Hyuuga's level. He would not give that man the satisfaction of falling to the Hyuuga's provocations.

"I was having an interesting conversation with Ami-san here, and I forgot where the borders were."

"A rather one-sided conversation, don't you think, Uchiha?"

Damn. He had been spying on them for a long time, with that blasted Byakugan of his. Sasuke forced a polite smile. "I am more of the listening type, to be frank. And Ami was telling me something very interesting, it didn't seem polite for me to interrupt."

Hyuuga scowled. Sasuke hadn't taken the bait. "I suppose you can leave, but don't get lost in conversation with your fiance again."

He hit a nerve. "She's not my fiance." he growled, his eyes turning blood red that threatened murder. Hyuuga smirked and stalked off.

"C'mon, Ami, before he gets back."

Hyuuga Neji...A talkative Ami, who just MAY be his fiancé…him finding out tonight...

What an awful day.


	4. The Work of the Flute

_**The Work of the Flute**_

Sakura heard the deafening roar of the fans from behind the curtain. Tenten smiled. "Loud, huh?" The smile faltered slightly, showing just how nervous she really was. The other two pretended not to see it.

Temari smirked, playing along. "No kidding. Maybe we shouldn't come out until the crowd becomes..." she looked left then right, then leaned to them as if she was giving out some gossip, "_absolutely quiet," _she whispered with a conspiracy-like air. While what she said was, in context, not very funny, the way she was hunched over as if she was giving secret information to enemy informants was rather amusing.

The other two giggled as Naruto came in. He smiled, looking at Sakura. "You guys talking about how hot I am or something?" He was talking to everybody, but his eyes were on Sakura. He flexed his bicep.

Sakura snickered appreciatively even though she felt an uncomfortable lump form in her stomach. She was trying to enjoy this as much as she could before after the concert. She couldn't go on pretending to like Naruto in the way Naruto did to her—she was planning on breaking up with her boyfriend after the concert.

It was going to be hard to do. So hard, in fact, that she never even told Tenten and Temari. She was so scared of hurting him, the man that she cared about so much— but she knew it had to happen. She couldn't go on pretending to be more than she felt. She saw him as a really close friend; like an older brother. She didn't want to hurt herself or hurt him any more by pretending to still harbor romantic feelings for him.

For some reason, today she felt like she _had_ to be tell him how she felt. She _had_ to break Naruto's heart. She hated herself for it, but that was just how she felt. She felt so miserable and stressed that during the concert she nearly screwed up in front of the crowd. Somehow, though, the music seemed to comfort her, and she felt good singing her song.

After what seemed like forever and a few seconds at the same time, the concert was finally over. Sakura had decided that she might as well get it over with, and told herself firmly to try not to hurt Naruto's feelings too badly.

She found Naruto backstage, tuning one of Tenten's guitars. He looked so happy, so peaceful, why should she hurt him like this...?

Sakura shook her head vigorously to rid herself of the thoughts. She had to do it, and she had to do it NOW. She walked up to his figure. He looked so adorable when he talked about the guitars. No, she told herself. No more pretending. She had to do this.

"Naruto…" she whispered, averting his gaze. He looked up. She couldn't tell him, at least not here. "We need to talk. Outside."

"Um… Okay." Bemused, he got up and followed her further backstage, away from the happy crowds and the other two girls signing autographs.

Sakura grabbed his hand and led him outside, to the edge of the Old Forest, as the people called it. It had been on the south side of Konoha since forever, and it was where she felt most comfortable. She had to tell him there—the feeling told her to.

"Naruto..."

Naruto smiled that goofy smile of his, and tried to kiss her, but she turned away. "Naruto, I think we need to start seeing other people." She averted his gaze, dropping it to the ground as the words left her mouth. After a second of silence, she peeked up to see his reaction.

Sakura had expected him to get really angry at her, she had hoped he would understand. But nothing had prepared her for what happened. He looked confused for an instant, but the look fell into one of sorrow. His face fell in such a way that Sakura almost thought it would fall off his head. His shoulders slumped, he put his head down. He looked like a defeated dog.

Then, he said in the calmest, saddest voice she had ever heard from him "Aren't I not good enough for you? Did I do something wrong? Whatever happened, I'm sorry..." he trailed off, staring at the dirt.

This was too much for Sakura. The pain she felt from seeing how she mercilessly crushed the heart of such a kind, energetic person sickened her. She turned around and ran into the forest to cover the fact that she had started crying, too.

* * *

Sakura ran long and far into the forest. She couldn't get Naruto's hurt expression out of her face.

_Am I not good enough for you? _His words haunted her thoughts as she ran blindly towards an unknown destination.

Of course he was good enough! He was _too _good! She never deserved him. She didn't deserve anybody. She was a pathetic loser that had kept Naruto to herself when she didn't even want him just so the band could prosper. Naruto deserved so much more. Someone out there loves him.

But not her. She just wasn't the one for him. She loved him as a little brother or a pet goldfish. She would cry if she flushed him down the toilet, but she didn't feel the vibe that made her want to kiss him.

She was sobbing, tears trailing down her cheeks and running her makeup. Her silk shirt was wet now, and sticking to her skin.

Great, an almost hysterical part of her mind thought. What a WONDERFUL night to wear white...

Her mascara must be running, all her makeup smearing with salty tears. She must be a mess. At any other time, she probably would have gone back home ASAP, to clear her face and put on a smile. But going back home meant facing her friends, and worse, Naruto. If Naruto even wanted to see her or talk to her at all. She couldn't figure out which would be worse—the thought of facing Naruto or of Naruto ignoring her.

After about ten more minutes of mindless walking, Sakura decided she wanted to get out of her wet clothes and wipe off her face of the running makeup, even if that meant facing the truth. She had to face it eventually. Starting to look around her, she tried to find a familiar landmark; she had been to the forest many, many times, and could go anywhere within it and find her way out. But this place was completely unfamiliar to her. She couldn't figure out where she came from.

She decided that if she walked in one direction long enough, she would HAVE to find her way out of the forest. It wasn't that big, it couldn't take too long. She started walking in a straight line, hoping to look for an edge of light or the murmur of the crowd, far off in the distance. But after at least ten minutes or walking, or at least enough walking to make her feet ache, she was still in the quiet, empty forest.

Apparently, it was bigger than she had remembered it. She had been walking for twenty minutes now, and she still hadn't gotten anywhere. Her makeup was hardening on her face. It felt weird; it wasn't crusting up and crumbling off her face like it usually did, like it should have—it was hardening on her face and sticking to it like some sort of cooling plastic. Seeing a small pond (was there ever a pond in the forest? Nothing surprised her at this point...) she decided to wash off the makeup there.

Looking at her reflection, she gasped.

Her makeup sure as hell didn't run like she thought it would. There were no smudges, no smearing on her face. Her makeup was forming spirals and swirls all over her face, like she was some sort of spiritual sacrifice. The biggest thing was a vine-like green line wrapping around her neck, up her left cheek, over the bridge of her nose, and settling a blooming flower right where her right eye was.

She looked like a clown!

Earnestly, she tried to wash off the horrifying designs, but to no avail. That stuff wanted to _stick. _She started crying, extremely distressed over her situation. She had just broken her now ex-boyfriend's heart, got lost in a forest she thought she had known like the back of her hand, and couldn't even get some weird makeup off her face. She was pathetic!

While she was wallowing in her self-pity, she heard a faint sound coming through the trees. It sounded, at first, like some small songbird. Sakura went to investigate the noise, hoping the song of the little bird would comfort her.

But as she got closer, she realized that it came from some sort of instrument... a flute? It had such a beautiful noise, it seemed impossible for something manmade to make such a sound. It had a haunting beauty that made her want to come closer.

While walking, a part of her was telling Sakura to run, and run fast in the opposite direction. Sakura convinced herself that she would just go and ask for the way out, because _somebody_ must be playing the flute, and that person must know how to get out.

The weirdest part was, she felt as if she KNEW the song; she had definitely heard it before. A few more minutes of walking, and she realized it was the new song she was trying so hard to finish. The odd thing was, it sounded perfect on the flute being played, when it was meant for a guitar. Words in her dreams filled her head, and she so desperately wanted to sing along with the tune that the notes were filling her throat and threatening to spill out her mouth.

At last, she reached the clearing where the flute was being played. It looked like some cultish celebration. Maybe a Marshmallow Cult fanclub. It would make sense on why they were playing one of HER songs.

There was a weird fire in the center of the clearing, but the flames weren't red. Or orange. Or yellow. Or any remotely color that you would associate with fires. They were white. The person who was playing the flute was a young-looking girl with silver-white hair and pale skin, holding a woodwork flute, her eyes closed with concentration. Sitting around the fire was a lot of teenagers about her age, wearing old fashioned, hand-made looking leather clothes, and wearing their makeup like the way Sakura's hardened on her face, with weird designs decorating it. They looked like they were trying to mouth along with the song, without much success.

_Well, duh. I haven't even figured it out, and it's my song!_

All thoughts vanished as she gazed at _him._

A boy, who looked about her age, was dancing around the fire, looking kinda stupid, but still dancing. He had short raven hair that stuck up in the back like a chicken's ass. He was shirtless (Sakura inwardly drooled), but had pants on that looked like the same material that the girls were wearing. He was wearing weird makeup on his face and chest that seemed to move with him as he danced. All in all, he was HOT.

Sakura shook her head. She was just crying over her loss of her boyfriend! She couldn't go eying some guy she hadn't even met like a piece of candy when she broke the heart of another man!

It wasn't until about now that Sakura realized she was humming along. The missing words had been quietly accumulating in her head, lyrics to the song she had never thought of. She was unconsciously revising her song until it fit just right, and before she could stop herself, she began to sing...

**I've been driving for an hour  
****Just talking to the rain  
****You say I've been driving you crazy  
****And it's keepin' you away**

The boy was dancing faster now; he seemed to like her singing. Of course, if this was a fanclub, then of course he'd like it. Encouraged, she continued, further than she had ever sung the song before...

**So just give me one good reason  
****Tell me why  
****I should stay  
****Cuz' I don't wanna waste another moment  
****In saying things we've never meant to say  
****And I...  
****Take it just a little bit  
****I...  
****Hold my breath and count to ten  
****I've...  
****Been waiting for a chance to let you in!  
****If I just breathe  
****Let it fill the space between  
****I'll know  
****Everything is all right  
****Breathe  
****Every little piece of me,  
****you'll see  
****Everything is all right  
****If I just...  
****Breathe**

Sakura vaguely noticed that while the women sitting looking everywhere for the person who was singing, the flute player was staring at her, smiling coyly. Sakura pushed that to the back of her mind, starting to dance along with the beat.

**Well, it's all so overrated  
****In not saying how you feel  
****So you end up watching chances fade  
****and wondering what's real  
****And I...  
****Give you just a little time  
****I...  
****Wonder if you realize  
****I've...  
****Been waiting 'till I see it in your eyes!  
****If I just  
****Breathe  
****Let it fill the space between  
****I'll know  
****Everything is all right  
****Breathe  
****Every little piece of me  
****You'll see  
****Everything is all right  
****If I just breathe...**

Sakura noticed that the boy's dancing has slowed slightly. She stopped dancing completely when she sees that his onyx eyes are staring at her. He saw her. But it doesn't seem to matter right now. What matters is finishing this song.

**So I whisper in the dark  
****Hoping you'll hear me  
****Do you hear me?**

That boy is still staring at her, though he is now dancing at the usual speed. He looks like he's trying to tell her something, but she's almost finished with the song! For the very first time! She closed her eyes and ignored him. He can tell her when she's finished with the song. (Maybe along with his phone number. I mean, who _wouldn't_ want a piece of that?)

**If I just  
****Breathe  
****Let it fill the space between  
****I'll know  
****Everything is all right  
****Breathe  
****Every little piece of me  
****You'll see  
****Everything is all right...  
****Everything is all right if I just breathe  
****Breathe...  
****I've been driving for an hour  
****Just talking to the rain**

The boy practically fainted from dancing so long; it was a wonder he hadn't done it before then. Sakura realized that her hands were clenched in fists and crossed over her heart and she quickly put them to her side. The boy was still staring at her—it was rather unnerving.

Finally, he asked with a hoarse voice, "Who are you?"

Things seemed to hit her all at once. If the boy didn't know who she was, then that meant that he didn't recognize her. Which meant he wasn't a fan of Marshmallow Cult. Which meant that this wasn't a fanclub.

The next few seconds were sort of a blank to her...All she knew was that the next thing she was doing was running. Running far and fast. At least, as fast as she could. For some reason, she felt as exhausted as the boy looked. Maybe it was from some of the dancing she did.

She blinked. She was back in town, right where she ran away. The huge stage was still brightly lit, and there were screams coming from the crowd. After being in the dark, quiet forest, the sound was like blasting in her ears.

Suddenly, something grabbed her from behind. Thinking it was an angry member from the strange cult out to get her, she screamed.

"You idiot!! You total idiot!" It was Temari.

"Oh my god, Temari, you scared me!"

"Scared YOU? You were the one who disappeared after the concert! Tenten and Naruto are looking all over the place for you! Everybody is worried sick!"

Something caught Sakura's attention. "Naruto is looking for me?" Her voice quavered.

"Of COURSE! He's your boyfriend, isn't he?"

Sakura broke down in tears on a very frightened (and pissed) Temari.

"Temari, he isn't my boyfriend anymore. I broke up with him. That's why I ran into the forest. He asked if he wasn't _good enough_ for me, Temari!" Sakura dissolved into tears again.

Temari, always rational, took Sakura from the edge of the forest to somewhere more confined so no one would see the poor girl in such a state. There, Temari did something completely out of character-- she hugged Sakura, comforting her like a mother would a child. Temari was good at stuff like that when she chose to be.

After about ten minutes, Temari took out a whistle and blew in it. About five minutes later, Tenten and Naruto appeared, angry but obviously relieved.

Naruto was blubbering about how sorry he was for being such a jerk, while Sakura was wondering why he wasn't calling her a jerk, and why she hadn't gotten that cute boy's number.

Speaking of the cute boy...

She needed to speak to her friends about what she saw in the forest. It was way too weird. But first, she needed to get rid of her ex-boyfriend.

"Naruto..."

Naruto stopped blubbering to listen.

"You are so funny, and charming and wonderful. Somewhere out there, a girl is waiting for you. You are somebody's perfect man. But you aren't mine. I'm sorry."

Naruto's face looked blank, and for a horrifying second, Sakura thought he was going to cry again.

But Naruto did the exact opposite-- he smiled.

"Then I better start looking, or she might find somebody better!"

Sakura laughed. "Friends?"

"Friends. Maybe more again someday. But for now, friends."

She smiled even wider. Tenten and Temari were smiling now, too. Sakura stood up and whispered to them:

"We need to talk. Now."

They nodded. They got up and made their way to Sakura's house and locked the door securely before Sakura gushed out what had happened in the forest. About her weird makeup, the flute player, the cult-ish people and the cute boy dancing, and how she remembered all the lyrics to her song just then and SANG ALONG, and how the boy didn't know who she was, which meant it wasn't a fanclub.

Tenten and Temari weren't nearly concerned about the phenomenon than how Sakura couldn't get a hot, SINGLE guy's number. Sakura sighed. Suddenly, she felt very sick all of a sudden. She felt so abnormally cold and her throat was dried up, and it hurt to breathe.

She rasped "Can we talk about this tomorrow? I need to go to bed."

They immediately looked worried, insisted on putting Sakura to bed, and gave her some water. They refused to leave and played doctor on her, giving her some medicine and staying by her side the entire time, Tenten even showing her a song she had been thinking of co-singing with her called "Love me Like that". It sounded pretty good so far, but Sakura was to the point of being unable to speak.

The other two called the hospital.


	5. His Special Day

_**His Special Day**_

When Ami and Sasuke got back to the campsite, Mikoto was there waiting for them—and she didn't look to happy, either. Her face had taken on a glass-like quality, and her arms were crossed over her chest. Her foot was tapping ever so slightly, but Sasuke noticed it.

"Where were you two?"

The question was simple enough, but it still made Sasuke shiver slightly. Her tone of voice said it all. Now don't get this wrong—there were few things Sasuke was afraid of in the world he lived in. Unfortunately, the wrath of his mother was one of them. She got really, really scary when she was angry or frustrated at somebody (she also got scary when she was having her period, too, but that is beside the point), and she was angry to the tenth power at the present moment.

Before Sasuke could come up with a plausible excuse, Ami gave it away. "Sasuke-kun and I were walking together, when all of a sudden, the _Solar Tribe Heir,"_ she hissed this part, she wasn't fond of them— but then again, neither was the rest of the tribe— "appeared and started harassing us! He insulted Sasuke-kun!" She was fuming at this point.

Sasuke sighed. He _really_ didn't want anybody other than Ami to know about the skirmish with Hyuuga-- the contract would look coldly at both of him (and he would lose his precious HONOR), plus, he lost the argument. That was embarrassing. If his brother ever found out, he probably would never be able to look him in the face again.

Oh, well. Might as well give the rest of the story. "Mother, we accidentally crossed to the Solar Tribe's part of the forest. He had every right to chew us out. Can we just drop it?"

Mikoto scowled. She was lady of the household, damn, lady of the TRIBE, she would not be spoken to like that and just sit there and smile all pretty. Especially by her own son. But, unfortunately, it would have to pass... just this once.

"Sasuke, the ceremony is going to start soon! We need to get you ready!" And with that, along with a "please excuse us, Ami-san", she whisked her son off to his tent, where a trio of giggling servants applied the marital markings on his face and chest and arms, colorful spirals and waves to represent flexibility with his new bride, lots of red to symbolize love and passion for the bride, straight, blue lines to show coolness under pressure and the ability to stand by his opinion, and plenty of whites and yellows to appease the goddess and hopefully bring happiness to him and his mystery bride.

After that was done, he got into modest, hand-sewn-by-his-mother-so-he-better-damn-well-appreciate-it leather pants (he had to keep his chest bare, for whatever reason). He didn't bother to put on his shoes/moccasins, because he knew he would have to take them off for the ceremony (seriously, who made up these rules?) and got out of the tent.

He was met by Mikoto, who squealed at how "grown-up" her baby boy looked (while he blushed and prayed to the gods that nobody would come upon them at the moment), Fugaku, who (for probably the first time in his life) looked proud of his second son, and Itachi, who was surprisingly sympathetic (he had gone through the same torture, it was about at this point that he had said enough), and said that if Sasuke didn't want his new wife (and if she was hot enough), Itachi would gladly take his place on the altar. Sasuke found this strangely comforting.

Suddenly, Jirocho came into the view of the Uchiha family, followed by a young girl that Sasuke had never seen in the tribe before. Seeing him staring at her, the girl smiled slightly.

"Lord Uchiha-sama," Jirocho breathed, looking like he was about to witness the apocalypse, "I am extremely sorry to say this, but the original Singer who was going to play at your son's wedding as suddenly fallen ill. A replacement has stood up to take his place, though I have never heard her, and I don't know the quality of her flute-playing abilities."

He gestured to the girl behind him. She had silvery hair that was long and straight, with a thin, fox-like face and dark blue eyes. She was rather petite, and didn't look any older than ten or so.

She bowed, speaking in a strangely soft and gentle voice, "I am honored to be the Singer for the Lunar Tribe heir. Though I am not as experienced as the original singer, I promise to be an honorable player of the Only One's flute."

Sasuke frowned. The little girl spoke oddly; she had a respect for the goddess that nobody else here had— I mean, who else spoke about the flute as the "Only One's", and not the Lunar Tribe's? Was she from another tribe? He had never seen her before...

His father was not happy about the fact that his son was going to be mated by a novice singer. "I would rather we put off the ceremony until the original singer got better. No offense to Miss...?"

The girl smiled that strange smile of hers. "Din. Sayaka Din. And I'm sorry, but the ceremony must happen tonight. The stars speak of it. And I am not a novice. Though I have not had the honor of singing at as many mating ceremonies as Jirocho, I have still played before. Besides, the flute will take care of most of the job. Don't worry, Uchiha-sama."

Fugaku grunted. He never got the point of the mating thing. It never made any sense to him. Oh, well. If she knew what she was doing, that was all that mattered, right? So he nodded his consent (he was always a man of few words, like his two sons), and gave his son one last look. It said, G_ood luck. You'll need it._

Sasuke gulped. He never really wanted to do this, and now he was more nervous than ever. His mother hugged him, and surprising even himself, he returned the hug. Itachi patted him on the back, and Sasuke was suddenly glad he had a brother, no matter how awfully annoying he could be at times.

The girl called Sayaka smiled and gently took his wrist, leading him to the holy grounds for the soulmate ceremony. All the girls were already there, dressed in the same modest clothes as he was, with the same kind of face paintings to mark their family lineage and hopes of the future. He saw Ami, who winked at him. He made a mental note to run away if Ami ever ended up being his soulmate.

The Holy fire was already blazing in the center of the group, its silver-white flames crackling. They vaguely reminded Sasuke of Sayaka's hair. For a little while, he entertained himself with the shooting sparks flying from the fire (silently hoping the sparks would fly out and catch an unlucky fangirl, preferably Ami, in the head and set her hair on fire), making different patterns on the scorching wood.

All too soon for Sasuke, Sayaka came to the center of the group and called out in a commanding voice unlike what he had heard from her before—

"Let the mating ceremony begin."

She pulled out the woodwork flute and began to play. It was a rather unusual melody, unlike the typical ones that one would usually hear. Honestly, Sasuke didn't know what to do. He couldn't dance to save his life. He had never heard this before. How could dance to it?

It took him a few seconds to register the fact that he was _already_ dancing— it was easy, a breathless ecstasy engulfing him, making him forget everything. All that mattered was dancing. He felt no exhaustion, even though he had been dancing for a while. He vaguely noticed that all the girls were trying hard to sing along, but they weren't getting very far. The tune was about as familiar to them as it was to him. He wondered if he even had a soulmate. Most of him was rather happy at the thought, that meant he wouldn't have to have a bride, and he wouldn't take over the tribe.

A very small part of him was rather disappointed at the thought of not having a soulmate. Though he would never truly admit it, he wanted to know what it would be like to have a wife who loved him for him, who wasn't mindless or anything.

Suddenly, a voice rang through the forest, loud and clear. The voice was singing along to the strange melody. It was young and full, and reminded him of a nightingale's trill. It was beautiful. He fell in love with the voice, and he knew this was his soulmate.

He opened his eyes to see who was singing. He looked around curiously to see who could have known the words to the song. It wasn't Ami, thank goodness. Her lips weren't moving, and she was looking around angrily to find the source of the words to his song.

Soon, he saw that Sayaka was staring at something in the bushes. While dancing, he looked in the direction that she was. What he saw almost made him stop dancing. He slowed his dancing to get a better look at her.

She had pink hair that was relatively short, it only went to her shoulders. Her eyes were green and hazy from the magic in the air. She obviously wasn't used to it. Her face was covered with the same kind of face paintings as the rest of the girls, but her clothes were not handmade, nor were they leather. She wore a silky material that left her arms bare, and most of her chest uncovered.

The girl was an Outsider.

The girl stopped dancing when she saw Sasuke's eyes on her, but she didn't stop singing. After a few more minutes of listening to her voice waft around the clearing, he realized she needed to leave. If she was caught, she would most likely be killed by the tribe. She needed to GO.

He couldn't exactly say, "Hey Outsider! Get out of here before the tribe chops your head off!" Not only is that rather non-dignifying, it would sentence her to death by rabid fangirl attack. So, he tried to tell her without words, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Finally he caught her eye and (while dancing) motioned her to go away. She frowned slightly, looking vaguely annoyed, but didn't stop singing. Obviously, this young woman was a retard.

As the sweet song continued, the girls around the fire became more agitated, and Sasuke grew more nervous. When they found her, they would rip her to pieces. All he could do is dance and hope that the girl would have the sense to hightail it out of there soon.

Unfortunately, when Sayaka finished the song with one last bitter-sweet note, the girl was still there. The moment the flute silenced, Sasuke fell to the ground, exhausted from the ritual. This was natural, since the magic of the flute gave them stamina that would only last as long as it was played. The girl must be as worn out as he was, if not more. He looked to see the girl still there, pale from the aftereffects of the rush of adrenaline she just experienced. Her breathing was shallow, and her faced was flushed. Her arms were crossed over her chest, but they dropped down when she noticed his staring. Why wasn't she scared? Was she really an Outsider, like he first thought?

So, with a croaky voice, he asked.

"Who are you?"

It was then that he saw the first sign of fear. She must have thought him a friend, or someone she knew, he thought. But now she knew that he did not know her, and was obviously scared out of her mind. For a full two seconds he looked at her, before she turned and dashed in the opposite direction.

Sayaka came up beside him, frowning slightly. "Now, why did she run?"

He stared at her. Was she insane? "That girl was an Outsider," he hissed. "She cannot belong here. It was a good thing she left. She could not have stayed here."

"But she sang along to YOUR song, did she not?"

"It is rather obvious it is a fluke. No outsider is the soulmate of an Uchiha."

She sighed. "Then who is your soulmate? I saw no other unwed girl singing to the Flute's song."

"I have no soulmate, then."

"Posh. There is no person out there with no soulmate. Come, we should get back to the Tribe summit. I'm sure your parents would like to see the results of the ritual."

"They will be miserably disappointed, I suppose."

"What are you talking about? The only way for them to be disappointed is if the ritual was a failure. It was not."

"It was. I still have no bride." He felt slight relief at his words. No wife. Things could go back to normal.

"Yes, you do. She is simply not here yet. You will have to get her."

"Hn." He was tired of conversation. There was nothing this Din girl could do, anyway. No harm.

You should have SEEN the looks on the fangirls' faces on the walk back to the tribal clearing. They were all extremely angry and vexed at how none of them ended up being the Lunar Tribe heir, and how the apparent soulmate of his never actually showed her face. Ami was the worst. Her black hair was frizzy from her running her fingers through it with frustration, her tribal makeup smearing from tears.

Seeing her, Sasuke inwardly smirked. He enjoyed seeing Ami angry, even if it was only for a little while. When they got back, Sasuke would tell his part of the story, how it was all a fluke, and how he didn't really have a soulmate. Then, the most likely thing that would happen is that his father would arrange a marriage instead, most likely with Ami, who would treat him like a pet dog. He would spend the rest of his life being paraded around like a show-dog on display by his wife, alone and miserable.

He scowled. Not an ideal future.

When they got back to the tribal grounds, Mikoto and Fugaku were waiting for them. Mikoto had a look of joy on her face that disappeared when she saw he accompanied no young lady as his bride. With each step, her expression grew darker and darker, until by the time Sayaka and Sasuke both came close to the family group, Mikoto was seething with fury.

"What is going on here?"

Sayaka was about to reply, but Sasuke cut her off. "There was none. We heard a voice, but nobody was singing."

Sayaka, who was respectfully holding her tongue while the Uchiha Heir was talking, burst out, "That's not true! There WAS somebody singing; I saw her! She was hiding in the trees, singing like there was no tomorrow!"

Mikoto frowned. "Why was she hiding? Why wasn't she in the circle, with the rest of the girls? Your story makes no sense."

Apparently, the wife of the Uchiha lord did not believe the word of a mere novice singer over that of her own son's. But little Sayaka wasn't giving up that easily.

"Oh, don't you get it?" Mikoto gasped; she wasn't even _trying_ to show respect at this point. "That girl was an _Outsider!_ She didn't know anything about the ceremony, she was just singing to song she thought she knew! It happens to every woman; why not an Outsider, too?"

Fugaku snorted. "That's a bunch of idiocy. No Outsider ever becomes soulmates with anybody in the Lunar Tribe. Why would it start now?"

"Maybe it is what the Goddess wants!"

As Sasuke watched the Singer's face contort with fury, something hit him; why was she praising the Goddess so much? This Din girl… when was there anybody with the surname of Din in the Tribe? The word itself sounded familiar…

His eyes widened slightly for a fraction of a second as he considered the possibility. Could she really be…? It would make sense. It also would explain Sayaka's defiance towards his parents.

Suddenly, something caught his eye— at Sayaka Din's feet was a small patch of flowers; mountain laurels, to be exact.

And he knew who she was.

"Ra Din." he whispered, loudly enough, though, for Sayaka and his family to hear.

Mikoto looked confused. "Ra… Din…?" Suddenly, realization came to her. "The messenger of the Goddess." She looked at the silver haired girl that stood in front of her. "Is that you?"

Sayaka had an expressionless face that could rival Itachi's at the moment; it was hard to tell what the answer to Mikoto's question was. "The Prophecy has been fulfilled." was what she whispered after long, tentative moments of silence. Then she turned to leave.

After about a few steps, she stopped for a second before looking over her shoulder right at Sasuke. "I advise you find your bride soon, Uchiha," she said in a calm, chilling voice that made even Itachi look slightly afraid. "Or the consequences might be deadly."

In a blink of an eye, Sayaka was gone. As soon as she disappeared, Sasuke found himself feeling unwell. VERY unwell. His throat felt itchy and scratched up, his nose suddenly clogging up. A raging fever took over, and he wretched on the ground before him. Mikoto screamed, Fugaku looked stunned at what was happening, but Itachi took action.

He looked and saw a servant nearby, watching the scene in front of him like a very interesting sitcom. "You," the elder Uchiha barked, "get a team assembled. We need to find an Outsider that found her way to the Great Forest." When the servant didn't move, he roared, "YESTERDAY!"

"Right, sire!" In a flash, he was gone. Nobody except perhaps the Gods feared an angry Uchiha, and nobody's all that sure even the Gods would stand their own.

Itachi sighed. What a crazy day.


	6. The Hospital Kidnapping

_**The Hospital Kidnapping**_

"Is she going to be okay?"

The nurse froze at the sound of Tenten's voice. She turned to look at her, nervousness and despair freezing her insides. "W-what?"

"You were going to my friend's room. You must know something about her condition."

_Oh, shit._ She should have assumed she had family members or friends, but she was too nervous to begin with. What was with the fucking servant's outfit, anyway? Way too starchy…

Might as well pull the "disclosed info" trick. Worked on more dates than she could count. "I'm sorry, only family members have the right to learn about Miss…" she checked the (fake) clipboard, "Haruno. You will have to wait until I get word from her parent or guardian."

Good. That shut her up. The girl (Tenten?) opened her mouth to retort, when a doctor came up next to the nurse. "Miss Mitarashi," he mumbled, softly enough for Tenten to not be able to overhear, "your assistance is needed in Miss Haruno's room." He made sure Tenten could hear that part. The panda-girl scowled.

The nurse mumbled some half-formed excuse to the girl while the doctor entered the room. The nurse followed closely behind, making sure the door closed tightly behind her. Once they both made sure they weren't watched, they both were engulfed in a puff of smoke. Now, there were no longer a doctor and a nurse. In their place were two odd-looking young adults.

When saying odd-looking, one means it in this situation. The man (who was the doctor before) had silver hair that literally defied gravity (how much hairspray does he use to get it like that…?) with one bored-looking gray eye looking half-asleep at the world. The other eye was covered by a headband with a crescent moon engravement in the metal, and a mask covering the rest of his face. He was wearing an outfit beyond description, looking like something that belonged in a cosplay.

The woman (who was the nervous nurse), had purple hair tied into a spiky ponytail and light gray eyes that glinted with mischief and wholeheartedness. With many piercings in both ears and a mesh metal fishnet suit covered up only by a brown overcoat, she screamed "trouble". Right now, though, she was too nervous to even give out that intimidating aura.

The silver-haired man walked into the center of the room, where a bedridden Sakura was sleeping. She was pale and cold, constantly shivering and trembling. It might have been a case of hypothermia, if not for the fact that there was no freezing water in her lungs. The man felt her forehead. He sighed.

"I have to hand it to that Ra Din; she sure knows how to lay a curse."

The woman looked at him. "She got a fever, too?"

He shook his head. "Exact opposite. I can bet you that all their symptoms will be the opposite of each other. Rather dark humor, honestly." Under his mask, he gave a wry smirk.

"I don't understand; wouldn't they have the exact same symptoms?"

The man sighed. "Anko, do you have any romantic sense? Haven't you ever heard the expression, 'They complete each other'?"

The woman named Anko made a face. "You know I don't. Unlike some people I know, I don't spend all of my spare time reading porn novels. Now come on, before the Council of Three notices we are gone. And then we _are_ in deep shit."

The man carefully took the hospital covers off the girl and lifted her up like a porcelain item. Anko snorted. "You act like she's _your_ betrothed, Kakashi."

"She may not be, but she's the Prince's. I rather like my legs, thank you, and I would really enjoy keeping them, which is my reward for bringing her back safely." The man called Kakashi walked over to Anko and handed her the cargo. "But if you are so confident in your abilities to complete this mission well, then by all means, enlighten me."

Anko was about to retort when the door opened, revealing the panda-girl and a girl about the same age Anko hadn't seen before. For a second, Panda-girl looked stunned, then she looked angry as hell. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH SAKURA-CHAN!!!!???"

Anko swore loudly, while Kakashi said, "Oh, dear."

Panda-girl was about to run for help, when Kakashi picked both her and the unknown (Goth) girl and slung them both over each of his shoulders, both of them kicking and screaming. Kakashi, looking bored at the world as usual, said, "If you don't wish to die a very painful death, I advise you shut your trap before my friend," he cocked his head in Anko's direction, "shuts it for you." Even when she was nervous, Anko looked pretty menacing by herself, though carrying an unconscious girl in her arms might have marred her pirate-ish appearance.

Looking intimidating enough, though, Goth and Panda girl both shut up.

* * *

The next minute was pure bliss for Anko. She loved jumping through the trees and feeling the wind whoosh around her. She felt invincible right now, and felt like nothing could stop her. Even when carrying such frail cargo (this girl was too light; didn't they feed her at the hospital?), Anko felt like she could take on the world.

When they reached the river, which marks the beginning of the Lunar Tribe's part of the Great Forest, Kakashi stopped. "We need to rest," he said.

Anko glared at him. "Rest?" she hissed. "We need to get back home before The Council finds us, before Uchiha dies, and before we get our hides tanned for taking so long!"

"In case you haven't noticed, we need to dump the extra cargo somewhere." Anko knew what Kakashi meant, but Goth Girl and Panda-girl didn't. They both started kicking and screaming for them to let them go. They weren't getting too far. All they could do is scream "let us go," and "we'll call the police for kidnapping!" Anko snorted at that. The police those girls were talking about couldn't help them. They wouldn't even ever be able to find them.

Kakashi eyed them warily. "Who are you to the Haruno girl?"

Goth Girl snorted. She was the one that seemed at least halfway calm and rational. "We are only her BEST FRIENDS. Which is why you two are going _down._" Then, she made a well-aimed kick that was WAY below the belt on Kakashi. When Kakashi fell to his knees, groaning, Panda and Goth girl jumped up and attempted to run away. They didn't get to far, thanks to Anko. A few miles away, a lot of crashing and screaming was heard, along with very nasty curses that sounded like it came from a young woman.

Back near the river, Temari and Tenten were both tied up, while Anko was with Kakashi as he got over his pain.

Kakashi was still groaning, holding his manly pride. Anko snorted. "Whoever said that men were tougher than women was obviously de-balled." She put her foot on Kakashi's back while Kakashi gave her a death glare. Anko applied some pressure to her foot, causing Kakashi to groan. "Oh, suck it up. We need to get Miss Sakura back to the Tribal Grounds, unless _you_ wasn't de-balled."

Tenten cut in at that point. "You aren't taking Sakura-chan _anywhere!_ I am gonna make sure you never go near her! She needs to get back to the hospital, to treat her!"

Anko snorted. "They wouldn't be able to do too much. We are taking her so she can get better, dumbass." Seeing Panda-girl's shocked expression, Anko frowned. "What did you think we were going to do, eat her for dinner?"

"How are you going to make her better?" Goth Girl was the one who spoke up this time. "The hospital is the best place Sakura could be, what could you do that doctors can't?"

"We can make sure she lives. Look, kid, we didn't want to kidnap any more than necessary. Unfortunately, when you two saw us, it became necessary for you two to come as well. We aren't going to hurt any of you guys unless it becomes necessary for it. Those were our orders."

Panda-girl looked confused. "What orders?"

"The orders to get Sakura Haruno and bring her back, no matter what. We can do whatever is necessary to complete the mission, but only what is necessary. Kidnapping you was necessary. If killing you is necessary, too, I'm not one to hesitate."

The girls paled. Kakashi, who had finally gotten over the obscene attack, said, "I think you scared them a tad, Anko."

Anko smirked. "That was the point." she whispered.

Kakashi sighed. "Let's go. We can't keep them waiting more than we already have." He grabbed Sakura, leaving Anko with Panda and Goth Girl. She smirked. Who knew Kakashi could be humbled by some teenagers?

She'd have to thank them later.

---

Tenten found it extremely uncomfortable being slung over the woman's shoulder. At least the man's was padded, if only a little. Plus, all this tree-jumping (how they are tree-jumping, she will never know) was making her sick.

Glancing over at Temari, Tenten saw she was pale, too, but Tenten knew it was for different reasons. What the woman said was scary.

_It isn't necessary for us to kill you, but if it comes to that, we will._ That was what she said. What was so important about kidnapping Sakura that would make them willing to kill? And how, exactly, are they going to make her better?

Were they scientists who want to study her? Tenten snorted. The woman didn't seem bright enough to unlock a door in a key store. And that man didn't seem so smart, either. Though he was hot.

Then she remembered something: What if this was about what happened to Sakura the night of the concert? Tenten thought she was joking about stumbling upon some sort of cult ritual, so she didn't think about it too much. But now…

Was that why they wanted her? For her interference with whatever religious thing they were doing? If that was the case, Tenten made a mental note to kill Sakura later. It was her fault they were being taken to Kami knows where, anyway.

Suddenly, all the jumping stopped. The woman looked behind her shoulder at Tenten. She gave off a slightly sinister aura, with a smirk like that.

"We're here."

* * *

Kakashi never wanted to do this job. Really, all he ever wanted to do was read porn then live the action in said porn with his wife (who wasn't always eager to do so, but whatever), so when they asked him to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha's soulmate, his first impulse was to reject IMMEDIATELY.

But when he found out that Sasuke had gotten sick over this, he knew he had to go. Kakashi was Sasuke's teacher, and Sasuke was like a son to the Copy Ninja. Plus, he owed the family a favor, anyway.

So, he and his wife, Anko, left the safety of their home to go to the Outside World, posed as doctors to kidnap her, and ended up not only kidnapping her but her two best friends. It hadn't exactly gone as planned.

But then again, when does anything?

When Kakashi finally caught sight of home, it was all he could do to breathe a sigh of relief. The mission was over. He could go home and, hopefully, have sex with his wife…

"Oh, dear."

Mikoto, Lady Uchiha was waiting for them. Judging by the bags under her eyes, she had been waiting for them approximately… since they left. Which means a crabby Mikoto. That is never good.

But as they got closer, Mikoto's face seemed to brighten up and become as lively as it would as if she had just woken up. She looked like she just had about twelve shots of caffeine.

"You found her? Good, good, GOOD!! The mission was a success, then? Who is she, exactly? AN what about…"

Her voice dwindled away as the group got closer, carrying not one but three young girls. "What is going on here…?"

Kakashi sighed. At least she was just confused, not angry, like he thought she'd be. Anko looked rather relieved, too. Apparently, Sasuke's health was more important than chewing out the pair for not following specifications of the mission exactly.

"We have her. The other two saw us, and when we found out they were friends, it deemed best just to bring them along instead of killing them." Anko felt the two girls over her shoulders stiffen at this. "It might help the girl become more comfortable here if she was surrounded by people she knew."

Mikoto's eyes narrowed for a second, but then she just sighed. "Just take her into that tent." She pointed to the tent behind her. "Hopefully, it will heal them both."

Kakashi nodded, and disappeared inside the tent. A few seconds later he came back out without the girl. Mikoto sighed.

What happens if bringing the two together isn't enough? She better go pray to The Goddess…

* * *

Sasuke woke up feeling ravenous.

Seriously, when was the last time he ate? It seemed like forever ago, before the ceremony…

As the memories came back to him, he realized he must have been sick. The gods must have been kind to him, to remove a curse from a Ra Din. Why was that messenger there, anyway? She hadn't visited the Valley of Fire in ages, maybe even since the Wise One prayed to the Goddess centuries ago. He better get up already and go ask Mother what had happened.

He tried to get up, but found that he couldn't. He felt heavier than before, or maybe he was just weaker…

Until he realized that there was something across his chest. And it was breathing. He looked down.

There, sleeping next to him, was the Outsider Girl.

* * *

_**A/N: Okay, so this is finally done. I wanted to edit some things in the chapters Cassy had already made, but I got lazy, and I knew this wasn't going to get finished unless I just posted them. The next chapter will have a different style to it, but it will be following the same storyline that Cassy had been intending for this story. Er, and don't hold your breath for it—I've got a lot of work on my plate, and I really don't know if the next chapter will get finished very soon. (But it WILL get finished—don't worry!)**_

_**First real introductory note in next chapter, btw.**_


End file.
